Rising exports helped rouse the Canadian economy from a sluggish second half of 2012 to grow at an annualized rate of 2.5% in the first quarter of this year, the fastest pace in six quarters, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is considering a strong focus on the manufacturing sector in the upcoming budget, part of a general shift in attention towards Ontario and its voters.
Opposition parties say Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ignored the country’s industrial heartland in favour of the energy sector in Alberta.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Joe Oliver is maintaining an optimistic outlook on the economy, saying Canada will end the year with positive growth — not in recession.
Technically, he just might be right. But that’s still up for debate.
“This feels like a period of slower growth, but not a period of contraction,” he told reporters Tuesday, avoiding any reference to a possible “recession” in the offing — roughly interpreted, arguably, as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Canada’s offshore oil and natural gas sector brings a wealth of economic benefits to Atlantic Canada, with close to 6,000 direct employees, thousands indirectly employed, and more than 800 supply and service companies also involved in the industry.

If there were any doubts about the oil sands industry’s resolve to expand amid growing protests, escalating costs and volatile oil prices, they were put to rest Thursday by mega announcements by Canadian and global oil companies that they are pushing forward with a new generation of projects.
Suncor Energy, Canada’s largest oil and gas company, and partners Total SA and Teck Resources Ltd., said they would build the much-delayed, $13.5-billion Fort Hills oil sands mining project in Alberta.

Canada’s natural gas sector could emerge as an investor magnet surpassing interest in the oil sands over the next two decades, The Conference Board of Canada forecasts show.
Natural gas could attract as much as $386-billion in investments by 2035 and create 3.2 million person-years of employment (or an average of 131,460 jobs annually), says the Conference Board of Canada in a new report. This compares to $364-billion investments expected in the oil sands and equal job growth during the period, according to an earlier Board study.